Someone
by Akora Felstream
Summary: "It's getting really late out, Sarge." Fuyuki said. It's getting dark out, and Natsumi isn't home yet. Is she in trouble, or is it a late night rendezvous? Giroro will find out. *Originally a One-Shot, now a chapter story!*
1. Chapter 1

As a discalimer, I do not own Sgt. Frog/Keroro Gunso, it's characters, or anything affiliated with the show. This is simply something that is a product of my own imagination. That being said, enjoy!

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"It's getting really late out, Sarge. " Fuyuki said as he stared out the open sliding door that lead to the small backyard. The sun was just touching the tops of the houses and the sky was shades of orange, pink, and indigo as night crept up. There was more than just one star dotting the darkened sky in the distance. It wouldn't be long and the last rays of the sun would be gone altogether.

Fuyuki had walked home alone today after a very short Paranormal Club meeting. Momoka had to leave almost immediately after school left out to go have tea with her father at the usual Scottish castle. So, with his only other member absent, he had left after a miserable solitary ten minutes. He hadn't expected his sister Natsumi to wait for him.

When he had arrived home, Fuyuki had gone straight up to his room to get started on his homework. The house was abnormally quiet, but he didn't bother to think about it. Only later, when he went to go ask Keroro something, more as a distraction to get away from his homework than for anything particularly academic, did he notice that the lights under the door to Natsumi's room were off, and that the rest of the house was empty. There weren't even another pair of shoes waiting at the back door. Just Natsumi's lonely slippers.

Keroro sat at the table picking through the take out that they chose to pick up with Natsumi being absent and Aki pulling an all nighter at work to meet a deadline she was worrying about. "I'm sure she's just fine. In any case, without her here we can comfortably sit down and enjoy a nice meal without getting beat up or yelled at for a change." Keroro grinned as he pulled out a piece of meat and proudly devoured it.

"I guess so.." Fuyuki said. Sighing he turned his back to the sliding door to make his way back to the table to join his frog friend before all the good parts were gone. "She's probably out with Saburo or something. Let's make sure we leave her some dinner, okay?"

Ignoring Keroro's loud protests behind him, Giroro looked up at the darkening sky with worry. The Corporal had been absently cleaning his weapons, now on the large rocket launcher he favored, as he waited for the fire he had started not long ago to rise to temperature. _Natsumi's still not home? And she's out with that self-centered Pekoponain idiot?!_

Without another a moment to waste, Giroro ran through the open door and down to the not-so-secret base beneath the Hinata household. He made his way to the dreaded Kururu Lab, a large yellow depiction of the insane frog himself with grinning teeth for a door. "Kururu! Open up!" Giroro yelled as he banged a fist on the door. _Open up or I will not hesitate to bow this door into oblivion.._ he thought as his fingers twitched to pull the trigger of the pristine rocket launcher in his hand. It was overkill, but this _was_ Natsumi we were talking about.

The teeth of the door slid up allowing the fuming red frog entrance. "Make it quick, I'm in the middle of something very important." The dark room was lit up with the glow of a dozen screens, all portraying different information, statistics, calculations, diagrams… who knew what the frog was planning. Kururu turned in his chair to face the Corporal. The headphones on his head were open, extending out to the sides of his head as he plugged into many computers. On one side of his head was a gloved hand holding a plate of curry and rice, while the other side had yet another hand with a spoon, poised and ready with another bite.

"I want you to make something to track individual Pekoponians. And I want it fast." Giroro growled as he stepped into the lair. It always worried him to come down here and ask for something from their technology expert. He had a tendency to test his inventions on the platoon.

"A Pekoponian tracker? Not interested." Kururu opened his mouth as the spoon hand offered the bite of curry to him. Kururu ate in silence as he stared at Giroro, waiting for him to either go or offer him something more interesting.

Without a word, Giroro lifted the rocket launcher at the nearest screen off to his left. "Make it. And make it fast, Kururu. I'm in no mood to play games."

"Kukuku… it's the small red one in the box by the door with the bright green handle. Put in some DNA of the Pekopon you want to find and it should work. Follow the scanning screen on top." Kururu grinned as his headphone hands fed him another bite of curry.

"You had one this entire time?!" Giroro yelled. He didn't have time for this. He lowered his rocket launcher and ran to the box, digging through for the tracker. Of course, it looked like a Pekoponian hair dryer, but thankfully it was the only red item in the box. Knowing Kururu, he would have filled the contents of the box with the same looking items just to waste everyone else's time.

Within moments, Giroro was high over head with is shield activated as he searched for Natsumi. The moment of guilt he felt when he influtrated the red-haired Pekoponian's room was short-lived. He needed DNA, and sadly, the photograph he had did not qualify as such.

He gripped the strand of red hair he had claimed and dropped it into the back of the tracking gun. A few moments passed with nothing. "I will kill that frog if this thing-" _Beep_ went the tracker. Giroro sighed with relief when he saw that she wasn't far off.

He flew fast to where the little pink dot blinked on the tracking screen. Below him, was a small Pekoponian play ground. With it being so late, the sky overhead nearly completely consumed with darkness, there wasn't a single child or mother around.

Except for one.

No, there was no one around, but the little light blinked that Natsumi was definitely down there. Giroro landed his little red saucer in the bushes where it was least likely to get tripped over since it was invisible to all but his platoon, of course, and the Hinatas. The red frog hugged a tree as he scanned the grounds. Three see-saws, one straight slide, one large turtle that formed a front and a slide, swing set… it was completely deserted. Checking the tracker again, the little light beeped and blinked that she was directly in front of him; the turtle, of course.

Quickly, Giroro ran to the small arch in the side of the turtle while he mentally readied himself for what he would find. _What if she's in there with that stupid Pekoponian? What if he's kissing her?! What if…_ he chased the images of worse possibilities away and pressed his back to the turtles side next to the arch. _If he has so much as laid a finger on her, I'll shoot off his whole hand. _Giroro smiled at the thought as he lifted his rifle, the rocket launcher strapped to his back as a precaution.

Inside, it was dark and the only occupant was Natsumi who had her knees to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and her face hidden. No Saburo in sight. Giroro disengaged his cloaking shield and approached the girl. "Natsumi…"

Slowly, Natsumi lifted her face to look at the frog. Her cheeks were wet from tears, and still a steady stream fell as she looked at him. "Giroro.." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "What are you doing here?" She sat a little more straightly, bringing her legs down to fold under her, with her hands resting in her lap.

Giroro stared at his warrior princess. Even with her tear-stained cheeks and obvious distress, he couldn't remember a time where he had seen her look so… vulnerable; not even when she slept. He couldn't think past how beautiful she looked when she had her guard down around him. "I came to find you. Natsumi, what's wrong? It's not like my warrior princess to shed a tear."

Natsumi lowered her eyes to the sandy ground. "It's Saburo."

The red frog fumed at the boy's name, gripping his gun tighter. "What's he got to do with anything?"

"I had heard rumors." Natsumi said. "I heard Saburo started dating a freshman girl." She wiped her eyes again, still not looking at her companion. "I went to go ask him after school… and… he was..was…" Natsumi brought her hands to her face as she cried again; tears choking out her words. "I saw him kissing another girl!"

Unable to move, Giroro stared at his crying beloved Natsumi. _Saburo? With another girl? Finally! He's out of the picture!_ But seeing Natsumi in such a state hurt him down to the bone. Worse than any wound he had ever sustained in battle, any pain he had endured at Kururu's experiments… and the heartache of his platoon leader being a manga reading, Gumdam obsessed idiot.

Cautiously, Giroro stepped over to his Natsumi. He didn't know what made him do it, but by the time his mind caught up to his body, his arms were already out, and reaching for his warrior princess. He hesitated only once, then gave in to the temptation. His reached up on his toes and wrapped his arms around Natsumi's neck so that her face barely touched his chest. _I am going to die for this… but at least I can die happily knowing that for one moment I held my beloved in my arms when she needed someone._ "Natsumi…"

The girl stiffened in surprise at the gentle touch. And from Giroro! She almost instantly brought her hands up to shove him away, but the soft way he said her name, full of such soft emotion and comfort… She lowered her hands from her face and wrapped her own arms around him, hugging him tightly as she cried into his chest; cried out the last of her heartache and pain. _Who'd have thought?_ She thought to herself, _of all the people in the world, a frog is the one that came to my rescue._

They didn't say anything as Natsumi cried and finally came to silence as she just held the red frog and he held her. Companionable silence as they enjoyed the comfort of someone they trusted.

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I hope everyone enjoyed it! Cute little one-shot that I couldn't sleep from. Stupid thing running through my head over and over, but what are you gonna do? Thanks for reading! *Thanks so much everyone for the reviews! If I get enough of them, I will expend this story into a second chapter, so keep it up!


	2. Chapter 2

The walk home was a silent one. Giroro rode his saucer lows to the ground so he could be near Natsumi, but high enough so they stood at eye level. They had not spoken a word since the park after Giroro had gruffly said that the others must be worried and that they should return.

The red Corporal remained silent as he thought of the somewhat disappointed look in Natsumi's face when he had brought up their return, and Natsumi was playing through her head seeing Saburo kissing his new girlfriend, and then Giroro coming to find her; one playing right after the other.

_I still can't believe that of all the people who came to look for me, it was Giroro_. Natsumi thought to herself as she stole a look sideways at the cloaked frog. _I mean, I guess we are kind of like friends, even if he is part of an invasion team of space frogs. But he is the most tolerable of the frogs, no question about it._

For the first time that day, her thoughts drifted from Saburo; where he was, what he was doing, who he was with, to the companion at her side. She thought of the first sweet potato that he gave her in a dark night when she was going to harass him for still refusing to even eat with the rest of them. She remembered the moment she was in the shower at school when she knew she was being watched and came to find later it was the frog doing recon. _Pervert_, Natsumi thought, but she could not help but smile. She remembered the battles she fought along side him, watching in awe at the skill and ruthlessness contained within such a small creature. _He may be small, but he has honor, courage, and heart. Something those other frog freaks do not know anything about._

She was looking at him again, and she has the strangest little smile on her face this time. Giroro tried to force his eyes straight ahead though he could feel himself blushing with pride. _She's looking at_ me. Giroro rolled his shoulder to hide the puff of pride that threatened to give him away. _I wonder what she's thinking about_.

Another corner was rounded; another street lay ahead. The walk home would not be much longer at the pace that they were going. The idea was unpleasant to both the girl and the frog, for not so different reasons. The night was cool warning of the end of the warm season they had been having, and the stars were bright even with the glare of the streetlights overhead.

"Hey, Giroro?" Natsumi said, finally braking the silence.

"Yes?" he responded with a surprised yelp. He had been thinking so hard about her, that hearing her voice made him jumpy. He cleared his throat and looked at her, trying to play it off coolly.

Natsumi only smiled and tried not to laugh. "I just wanted to ask you something."

Giroro turned his full attention to the Pekoponian girl and waited. Natsumi had dropped her gaze from him and stared at the ground. She had come to a stop and Giroro set his saucer on hover so he could look at her while she spoke. "Can you not tell the others anything?" Her soft brown eyes came up to lock in his.

_A secret. A secret between just us two_. The idea made he want to smile, but he only huffed and looked away. "Sure thing, babe. Not like the others will want to hear about the problems of a Pekoponian female." Giroro was pulled out of his thoughts after realizing what he had instantly blurted out. He turned to apologize, but the look on Natsumi's face stopped him.

She was _smiling_. At _him_.

_He always acts so weird when we're alone. I wonder if it's because he finds me troublesome?_ She tilted her head as she looked at her red friend. If she really was troublesome, why would he go out looking for her? Why would he give her a hug when she needed it the most and then say nothing, letting her think.

Her smile widened as she turned back down the street towards the swift approaching Hinata residence. "The others must be starving. I didn't realize it was so late already."

"The others have already eaten." Giroro stated flatly as he moved his saucer to cruise along beside Natsumi again. "When you didn't come home and have dinner prepared, Keroro ordered out." He explained when Natsumi gave him a surprised and curious look.

With a sigh, Natsumi looked back down at the street as she walked. "I see. I shouldn't have been out so long." She trailed off, obviously distressed at letting everyone down.

He was tired of seeing his warrior princess so disappointed and sad. He had seen it too much today to stand. "I haven't eat yet. I had just started getting my fire pit going when I heard the others talking about your absence. It should be well warmed now."

Natsumi blinked and looked at him. A small sly smirk spread across her lips. "Giroro, are you inviting me to dinner?" She asked, almost managing to even sound innocent as she teased him.

Giroro, however, instantly reacted. His saucer swerved once when he blushed horribly at her question, a second time to avoid a trash can that had seemingly popped out of nowhere and directly into his path, then failed a third time as he hit a light post. Natsumi could only laugh as Giroro rubbed his head embarrassed but unharmed despite the damage to the pole and saucer.

"I'm guessing that's a yes? I'm also guessing that this means you'll be walking the rest of the way?" Natsumi giggled as the saucer clinked and crackled pitifully behind the frog who hopped off the wreckage, pointedly keeping his back to the device as though it weren't there.

"I'll let Kururu know its out here and he'll do something about it." The idea of having to face the yellow demon again twice in the same day didn't sit well with him, but it was not in operating enough condition to move it by hand. "He'd be highly amused to know that it almost killed me. He may even make it faster to see if it can have a better chance next time."

They shared a smile knowing the truth of the statement, even as they joked together. Kururu was severely twisted and anything he could do and get away with to cause a little pain and a lot of misfortune was just up his ally.

Instead of going into the house, the pair circled to the back of the house where the small Keronian tent was set up. The nights were definitely starting to get cooler, but the fire fought back the cold easily. Giroro removed the unused arsenal he had strapped to his person and placed them within the tent, keeping them out to remind him to clean them of any sand or dirt before he turned in for the night.

Behind him, Natsumi was already sitting down on her cinderblock and basking in the warm wash of the fire. The glow bathed her in soft light, and Giroro was transfixed as he gazed on her. She was always beautiful to him, of course, and seeing her in the park let him see another, softer, side of his princess. The fire dancing across her face and hair made her look almost primal, exotic, something wild and untamable; nothing like the crying girl he had seen earlier. _This_ Natsumi he knew. Bathed in the light of flying rockets, the sharp flash of gunfire, the look of determination on her features as she fought with him, and sometimes against him. How he loved her…

"I-I'll be right back. I should tell Kururu about the ship before I forget." He ducked back into the tent and brought out a few sweet potatoes and a stick for each of them check them as the flames licked the delightful treats. "I won't be long," he stated flatly as he set the potatoes beside the fire, knowing Natsumi had seen him roast potatoes enough times to know how to do it herself, if she did not already know how to.

Inside, Fuyuki and Keroro were busy testing their skills against each other in the new video game Natsumi had purchased earlier that week. A part of Giroro wanted to be furious the two were playing games while Natsumi was missing, presumably lost and alone out in the dark cold night, but another strong part of him was pleased that he could keep Natsumi to himself a little while longer.

His near silent trek around the living room, trying to not be noticed, was brought short when Fuyuki's voice broke out as the red frogs hand rested on the door knob. "Hey, Giroro, did you find Natsumi?"

"Yeah.." he answered gruffly as he turned to look at them. "She's outside at my tent if you-" Giroro stopped since neither of them had looked away from the brightly flashing screen once. The two twisted and turned as they tried to make their motions add into the game, which of course was fruitless as Keroro cried out in dismay when his character was knocked off a platform of some kind and disappear into the distance with a blink only to reappear once again and the fight began again.

_Strange Pekoponian games…_

Giroro left the pair as they virtually beat each other to a pulp and descended back into the depths of the base to Kururu's lab. The teeth were once again clamped shut and it was eerily quiet. Shuddering, he pressed the small communication device linked to inside the lab.

"Kururu? It's me. I found Natsumi. The Pekoponian tracking gun worked perfectly, and the saucer is crashed outside into a light pole." He ranted out his greeting and message as quickly as he could and turned to leave. Behind him, the teeth slid out of the way allowing him access into the darkened room still lit with the harsh light of numerous computer screens.

With a sigh, Giroro entered and tried not to jump when the doorway closed behind him. The chair where Kururu had been sitting was abandoned though the screens still showed the same type of information as before. The lab also reeked of curry._ How much of that stuff can he eat?_ Giroro wondered as he made his way deeper into the lab, seeking the yellow Sgt. Maj.

"Crashed the saucer, ku ku ku?" Kururu's voice rang out from around a corner. "And after I just fixed it. What do I look like, a mechanic?" His voice sounded both delighted and irritated somehow, which made Giroro hold onto the small strand of hope still lingering that he might walk out of this meeting in the same condition he had entered it.

Giroro stopped dead in his tracks when Kururu came into sight, his retort forgotten on his lips. Sgt. Maj. Kururu was submerged up to his chin in a bathtub of steaming, creamy, curry while his head rested on a "backrest" and "pillow" of pure, clean, white rice. In one hand was a stew ladle where he was absently scooping up generous portions of curry and pouring it back into the bath. Feeling all the color drain from his body, Giroro could only stare at the yellow stewing frog.

"Ku ku ku… Want to scrub my back, Gi-ro-ro?" Kururu teased holding out the emptied stew ladle.

The comment broke through to Giroro's mind and he turned his back on the frog. "No. And I flew into the light pole outside near top speeds. The crash almost snapped my neck."

"Ku ku ku… You must have been having a midnight stroll with Natsumi to make you lose control of the ship so easily." Giroro's face burned at Kururu's statement. _How is it that everyone knows except her?_ "I'll bring it in for repairs when I'm done soaking. It gives me an excuse to lounge in luxurie twice in one evening. Ku ku ku…"

Back still to the bathing frog, Giroro blinked in shock. _That almost sounds like a dismissal, but without any more teasing? No witty banter? He must have really liked the thought of severely injuring myself_ very_ amusing_. "Right… Thanks, Sgt. Maj." Giroro muttered as he made his way back to the lab entrance, still shocked that he was leaving alive and in once piece. _I get to hug Natsumi. I walked home alone with Natsumi. I leave Kururu's presence without injury. I get to have a meal with Natsumi. Maybe I did die…_

Back upstairs, the video gaming duo had finally realized that Natsumi had returned. She was still outside, poking absently at the fire, and Fuyuki was sitting leafing through a new paranormal magazine. That Keroro was laying flat on the floor beside the door with a huge welt on the back of his head and a crater the size of the Keronian's head decorated the wall above him was the confirmation. Giroro grinned as he watched his commanding officer twitch in pain a few times before walking towards the sliding glass door. "I wouldn't go out there right now. Natsumi seems pretty mad and she said she wanted to be left alone."

Giroro looked up, and again found that the young Pekoponian male still had not bothered to look up once from what he was doing to address the corporal. The red frog glanced out the window to see Natsumi had turned her head to meet his gaze and offered a small welcoming smile.

A wave of pleasure flowed through the frog as he puffed out his chest in pride. He sighed out and made his way to the door, eyes on Natsumi as her eyes were on his. "We'll just see about that." He all but growled challengingly in a low tone as he slid the door open.

Finally, Fuyuki tore his eyes from the pages of the magazine to look at Giroro as the door slid shut behind the frog. He blinked curiously as Natsumi smiled at the corporal while Giroro himself took his seat beside her on his own cinderblock, take up a stick and prod at the fire. _I guess Natsumi just wanted some time alone with Giroro_. He smiled to himself as he looked back at the pages knowingly.

"These seem about done." Giroro stated as he turned over a potato in the fire, it's skin already blackened in the night air filled with the sweet aroma. He skewered one potato then, without asking, held out his hand to Natsumi who placed her stick in his hand. He traded sticks with her, giving her the first sweet potato of the night as he pushed the few remaining potatoes to the outer ring, keeping them hot without cooking them further before picking one for himself.

"Thanks, Giroro. I'm starving!" Natsumi said as she took a large bite. Her eyes watered from the heat, but her lips were smiling. She forced down the bite and sighed out happily. "So good! I don't know what it is about these things, but I just can't seem to get enough of them."

Giroro chuckled at the girl as she blew on the potato this time, cooling it first, before taking a more reasonable bite. They shared their meal quietly, abandoning the sticks when the skins became tolerable to hold in their hands.

Once Natsumi had finished her potato she smiled and sighed contently. "You know, I was almost dreading having to come home and cook everyone's dinner tonight. I'm really glad that it turned out like this." She smiled at Giroro, which in turn made him blush and look away with closed eyes as he finished off his own potato. "Hey, Giroro, why do you always eat out here all alone? I can make enough food for all of us you know."

It was the closest he had heard to her _inviting_ him, not demanding him, into her home that he had ever heard. He looked back up at Natsumi almost in awe as he tried to think beyond the mushy thoughts clouding his mind. After a moment, he looked down and retrieved a stick to poke at the fire, hoping the color of the fmales would hide the burning in his face. "It's part of the soldiers training never to live under the roof of an enemy." He answered gruffly. He saw Natsumi slouch out of the corner of his eye, and he stole a quick glance to see her eyes settle on the flames with an almost tired smile. Quickly, he cleared his throat and added, "but, if you accidently make more food then you need some night, and Keroro can't fill his bottomless pit, I'll see about helping."

Natsumi grinned down at the frog. _He invited me to dinner, it's only fair that I invite him to dinner as well_. No sooner had the thought slipped through her mind that a strong breeze tore through the city, bringing the cold chill of a fast approaching winter. Embers from the fire jumped and bit at Natsumi playfully making her shriek in surprise. The Keronian Corporal jumped into motion, banking the fire and putting it out with swift stamps of his feet. Eyes darting up, Giroro assessed the sudden temperature drop and frowned knowing that this would be the first of many long cold nights.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Natsumi grabbed his hand and pulled him, literally, out of his thoughts and towards the house. Throwing open the sliding door, Natsumi dragged the weakly resisting frog inside, kicked off her shoes and closed the door again with a _clack!_ Outside, the trees swayed and groaned restlessly, whipping violently. The smoldering leaves from the fire were picked up and danced like dark fairies on the wind before being whisked away and out of sight.

Giroro looked around surprised to see that Keroro and Fuyuki were already gone, probably back to their respective rooms for the evening, leaving he and Natsumi alone in the room. He marveled inwardly at how more and less intimate being alone in a room together with Natsumi felt compared to a comfortable fireside meal only minuts before.

"Stupid frog!" Natsumi exclaimed in outrage. "Only he could order out and still get this many dishes dirty!" Giroro blinked out his musings and looked on as Natsumi fumed from the kitchen. He had not noticed her move away from him, his thoughts had been so deep. Already, Natsumi was rolling up the sleeves of her school uniform and the water was flowing into the sink.

Impulse again gripped him. _I feel like this is going to turn into a habit around this woman,_ Giroro thought as he joined Natsumi in the kitchen at the sink. He watched her work away at scrubbing the dishes, her face contorted in rage as she silently cleaned up his Sgt.'s mess. Wordlessly, he retrieved the stool that he had seen Keroro use often when he did his chores, retrieved a clean dry cloth, and set the stool up beside Natsumi before climbing onto it.

Natsumi stared at Giroro when he silently held out one hand for the clean plate she held, while the cloth was gripped in his other hand. Slowly, Natsumi handed the plate to Giroro who took it, dried it carefully then set it on the counter. Wordlessly, he held his hand out for the next. A warm smile, _his smile_, he mused, touched her lips as she washed a spoon and handed it to him. The continued until there was a small stack of sparkling clean dishes on the counter top. Natsumi placed the dishes away as Giroro wiped down the counter, sink, faucet, and knobs before looking over his handy work with a satisfied nod. _Just like cleaning an assault rifle. When you do it just right you cannot help but be filled with pride. Maybe this is why the Sgt. cleaned so much, even when he does complain about it._

Natsumi huffed from behind him, and he turned to see her doing the same as he was, admiring a job well done. She caught his gaze and winked at him, making his face burn and almost fall off the stool he stood on. She walked back to the sliding door, pretending she had not noticed the way he reacted, like she usually did, and stared out at her school bag, a frown again touching at her lips. "I still have a homework assignment to finish before school tomorrow…" Her voice was soft and distant as she thought back about her day.

Giroro grunted as he hopped down off the stool and pushed it back into place out of the way. He did not know what he could say to make her stop thinking about that Saburo idiot. _What kind of Pekoponian would turn down his_ Natsumi? Not that he was not pleased, but he could see the sadness in her face when she pondered a version of the same question. Grunting again, he walked past her to return outside. Natsumi's hand instantly went to the door to stop him, eyes wide as she look down at him. "Giroro, it's crazy windy outside, can't you see? And it's going to get really cold tonight."

He shrugged and stared at her until her hand moved away from the door. "You still need your bag, and I need my guns." He paused amoment. "And I think you should do your homework down here tonight-" He slid the door open, the wind drowning out his words as he quietly finished "…where I can keep an eye on you."

Natsumi watched as Giroro gathered the guns he took with him to "rescue" her, a box from inside the tent, and her school bag which had been knocked over in the angry winds first assault. Once back inside, he set her bag on the table for her and proceeded to set down a mat. Settling himself comfortably, Giroro disassemble the rocket launcher first without looking at her. Not once did he meet her gaze.

Retrieving her bag, Natsumi looked at the door leading to the hallway and the stairs beyond, then back at the red frog as he deftly disassembled the weapon without looking, _probably timing himself_, she presumed, grinning at the idea. Hesitating, she sat down on one couch, opened her bag and began the task of finishing her assignments.

The Keronian was pleased that she had listened to him, even in so small a matter as staying when he suggested it. Giroro cleaned and polished his rocket launcher lovingly, eventually moving on to the smaller assault rifle as Natsumi toiled over her work. A slow comfortable hour passed between the two before Natsumi set down her pencil and closed her booklet with a satisfied sigh. "English really can be the worst sometimes," she said absently.

A click made her turn her attention to Giroro as he snapped the last piece of the launcher into place, the gun, already reassembled, at his side. He brought it up to his shoulder and looked through the scope, testing as he maneuvered it around the room as though chasing a nimble target before he landed the scope on Natsumi who stared at him with an amused grin. He almost dropped the weapon in his hast to stop pointing it at her head. "I-it's not loaded!" He stuttered immediately, not wanting her to get mad at him for even pointing it in the house.

She laughed and waved her hand dismissing the outburst. "I know. You wouldn't clean a loaded gun after all. I trust you." I trust you, Giroro played through his mind, like a repeating track. I trust you… I trust you… I trust you…

"Giroro?" Natsumi asked. Giroro blinked a few times and shook his head snapping his attention back to the Pekoponian girl who had been trying to get his attention. She was standing at the door leading to the hallway, the door already partly open as she looked at him. "I said it's too cold to stay outside. I'll be right back with a blanket."

Giroro had barely opened his mouth to protest before she had disappeared and was digging around the downstairs closet. "My tent has proved its use, you know!" He called out after her. "I spent all last winter in it, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." She said as she came back in with a thick, bright pink blanket in her arms. It was patterend with large alternating white flowers with yellow centers and yellow flowers with white centers and simple lush green leaves. "I don't think you should be out there in winter, either." She dropped the blanket, and looked from the staring frog to the blanket whish was the object of his attention. "Sorry… I know, it's really girly, but it's the only one that's clean. The rest need a good wash before they'll be of any use." Her hand gently traced a yellow flower petal as she smiled. "This was mine, when I was very little. I don't know why I've never let mom throw it out or give it away."

Slowly, Giroro pushed himself to his feet and walked to the blanket. Natsumi blushed lightly when he mirrored her motions and caressed a small red hand over a white petal, eyes still locked on the item in thought. "Just for tonight." Giroro finally said. "Don't want you to start thinking I've gone soft." He turned hard eyes to her making her show her surprise. "A soldier doesn't sleep under the same roof as his enemies."

She smirked at the old, familiar line. "Then, for tonight, why don't we call a truce? We'll just be friends, and then tomorrow we can take it from there. Deal?" She held out her hand as she smirked at the frog, her determination blazing in her eyes.

A grin crossed the Keronians lip as he took her hand and shook on it. "Truce. Just for tonight." He confirmed. His eyes darted behind her to the door she had not yet closed letting him look out into the hallway. "And just between us," he added looking back up at a confused Natsumi. "If the Sgt. tries anything, feel free to put his face into the wall again."

Natsumi grinned at the thought and tightened her grip, sending shivers down Giroro's spine. He loved the look of delight she got when she thought about hurting his commander or anything violent. That probably should not be a good thing, but there had been plenty of times where he himself had inflicted bodily harm on Keroro, and in return, received injuries from the frog as well. Either way, good or bad, it pleased him to see the fire back in the eyes of his warrior princess.

* * *

Took me a long time to get this where I wanted it to be! I got stuck about a page in and couldn't figure out why, but then I changed a response and BAM! I'm back on track! Since I got so many request (thank you all for the reviews!) I am going to be expanding this from a one-shot into an actual story. I'm still not sure where it will end, but the journey promises to be a fun one, at least for me!


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